State Records Committee Appeal 2008-04

BEFORE THE STATE RECORDS COMMITTEE OF THE STATE OF UTAH

ANDALEX RESOURCES, INC. GENWAL
RESOURCES, INC., AND
UTAHAMERICAN ENERGY, INC., Petitioners, vs.

INTERMOUNTAIN POWER AGENCY, Respondent.

DECISION AND ORDER

Case No. 08-04

By this appeal, Andalex Resources Inc., Genwal Resources, Inc. and UtahAmerican Energy, Inc., request that the State Records Committee overturn Intermountain Power Agency's decision to release certain redacted records to The Salt Lake Tribune pursuant to the Utah Governmental Records Act and Management Act (GRAMA).

The State Records Committee, having reviewed the materials submitted by the parties, and having heard oral argument and testimony on March 13, 2008, now issues the following Decision and Order.

STATEMENT OF REASONS FOR DECISION

1. The Government Records Access and Management Act ("GRAMA") specifies that, "all records are public unless otherwise expressly provided by statute."  Utah Code Ann. 63-2-201(2).  Records that are not public may be classified as private, protected, or controlled.  See Utah Code Ann. 63-2-302, -303 and -304.  GRAMA further specifies that commercial information may be classified as protected if, among other requirements, the person submitting the information has a greater interest in prohibiting access than the public in obtaining access.  See Utah Code Ann. 63-2-304(2).

2. The State Records Committee determines that pursuant to Utah Code Ann. 63-2-403(b) the Petitioners' interest in prohibiting access is not greater than the public's interest in obtaining access to the records.  The Committee therefore denies the appeal.

ORDER

THEREFORE, IT IS ORDERED THAT the appeal of Andalex Resources, Inc., Genwal Resources, Inc., and Utah American Energy, Inc., is denied.

RIGHT TO APPEAL

Either party may appeal this Decision and Order to the District Court.  The petition for review must be filed no later than thirty (30) days after the date of this order.  The petition for judicial review must be a complaint.  The complaint and the appeals process are governed by the Utah Rules of Civil Procedure and Utah Code Ann. 63-2-404.  The court is required to make its decision de novo.  In order to protect its rights on appeal, a party may wish to seek advice from an attorney.

PENALTY NOTICE

Pursuant to Utah Code Ann. 63-2-403(14)(d), the government entity herein shall comply with the order of the State Records Committee and, if records are ordered to be produced, file (i) a notice of compliance with the records committee upon production of the records; or (ii) a notice of intent to appeal. If the government entity fails to file a notice of compliance or a notice of intent to appeal, the Committee may do either or both of the following: (a) impose a civil penalty of up to $500 for each day of continuing noncompliance; or (b) send written notice of the entity's noncompliance to the Governor for executive branch entities, to the Legislative Management Committee for legislative branch entities, and to the Judicial Council for judicial branch agencies entities.

Entered this 20th day of March, 2008.

BY THE STATE RECORDS COMMITTEE

____________________________________
SCOTT WHITTAKER,
Chairperson Pro Tem
State Records Committee